What You Don't Know
by Elmrada
Summary: "I bet I've made the biggest idiot of myself." Ranma Saotome has done everything. He's done everything except admit his feelings to Akane. The words are in his mind, yet they manage to get manipulated by the time they're leaving his lips. One shot.


**Authors Notes: JUST FYI- don't read this if you haven't completed the Ranma series (1-38) Unless you want some spoilers...**

What You Don't Know

Ranma stared at himself in the mirror. He was a mess. Covered in dirt, his white tuxedo stained in various spots. He let out a sigh and pulled the bow-tie loose, shaking his head. It had been a very stressful day. Ranma wasn't even sure if he wanted to come out of the bathroom. He was supposed to be married. But he wasn't. The wedding had been a complete failure. After everything that happened that... _cute _tomboy wasn't his life partner. Ranma shrugged out of the tuxedo jacket and tossed it in the basket.

_Karma just hates me, _Ranma thought, gloomily. He tossed the bow-tie on the jacket and then plopped down on a nearby stool. _After all of that. After everything I did. _Ranma groaned and shook his head. He had a splitting headache. _I didn't even get cured. Thanks to Ryoga and Mousse... _Ranma heard the pattering of feet. Quickly, he ducked behind a nearby towel cabinet. He squeezed inbetween the tile wall and the cabinet. He barely fit.

Akane entered the bathroom, a towel slung over her shoulder. She spotted Ranma's discarded tuxedo in the basket. She looked around and even peaked in the bathing area. "Ranma?" She called once. Ranma's heart was thudding as he squeezed further into the space in the wall. Akane shrugged and flicked the straps of her suspender skirt from her shoulder.

_Oh crap, _Ranma thought, _she's gonna catch me. She's gonna catch me. _He silently wished she was still in her wedding gown. She was absolutely stunning. Glowing almost. Akane set her towel on a nearby stool. She then began sliding her skirt off. Ranma squeezed his eyes shut, fighting the urge to watch her. _I'm going to die. _Was all that was running through his mind. _Don't move. Don't make a sound. And whatever you do, don't open your eyes._ Ranma's eyes slowly slid open. Her white sweater was long enough to where it covered her panties, but he got a good look at her full legs. He'd seen her legs a lot when they went swimming and he'd always make fun of her legs, but suddenly, her thick thighs didn't seem so bad. _What the hell are you doing? _His mind sneered, _are you really watching Akane undress? You sick bastard. _For once, Ranma silenced his bickering mind.

Ranma felt wrong about peeping on Akane in the bathroom. Most of the time, things like this often back fired. Ranma lowered his eyes to the tile and began thinking back to a few days ago. Those days of havoc. Those days when he was completely taken for Akane. He had never known about that pounding love in his heart, but those past couple of days really showed through to it.

_"RANMA!" Akane screamed, leaning over the edge. His arms were frozen together, a web overcoming him. His eyes shot up and he thought he was looking into an angel's eyes. Ranma's eyes widened._

_ "AKANE!" He shouted back. Ryoga looked up and was shot in the face by a cupid arrow. Akane looked over at the Jusenkyo guide and was saying some thing. The next he knew, she was racing across the stems. "AKANE!" Ranma screamed, coming to his feet. What the hell was she doing? Then he noticed her eyes glued to the staff stuck in the top. She's going to grab it. She's brave, Ranma thought. Her hand flew out and struck hold of the staff. Akane began pulling at it, when suddenly she disappeared. Ranma's eyes widened and he fell to his knees, wondering what had just happened. The clothes she had been wearing drifted down to his hands. "A... Akane..." Ranma whispered, staring at the garments of clothing, that moments ago, Akane was wearing._

_ "Foolish girl," bellowed the Jusenkyo Prince, "That staff was far too hot for a normal human to grab!" A hard rocking came and soon rocks were showering down below. Ranma knew he should move, but he felt paralyzed. Akane... no... Ryoga raced forward and grabbed Ranma. He dodged through the raining of rocks._

_ "RANMA! GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!" Ryoga promptly smacked Ranma across the face. Ranma was still stunned. His eyes wide. His cheek glazed red. Ryoga loosend his grip on Ranma's shirt, "Ranma..."_

Ranma shook back to reality. Akane was standing before the door to the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her surprisingly curvy body. Ranma blushed and made his eyes look away. Akane let out a sigh and shook her head.

"I don't feel like taking a bath. I took one this morning anyway," She turned and began redressing herself in her pajamas. Ranma looked over at her just as she slid her shirt on.

_Is she upset? _Ranma wondered as she pulled the pants of her pajamas up. She yawned and tossed her discarded clothes ontop of Ranma's tuxedo jacket. She then began crossing to the towel cabinet to put the now folded towel away. Red alert sirons went off in Ranma's mind. He was in complete white against a blue tile wall. _She's going to see me. _Ranma thought, his eyes widened as he thought about how many times she was going to hit him. _I'm going to die. _Akane threw the cabinet door open, clearly distracted. The door flew back, hitting Ranma in the face. _Stupid tomboy, _Ranma growled, his forehead throbbing. Akane pulled the door back and peaked around. She gasped sharply and slammed the cabinet door closed. She grabbed Ranma's shirt and threw him out from his hiding spot.

"Ranma!" She cried, "were you _spying _on me!" Ranma stood there, flaberghasted. He honestly didn't know what to say. Her hands were firmly planted on her hips, her brow furrowed as she waited for Ranma's response.

"I..." He shook his head, "Hey, you walked in on _me_." She looked surprised by the turnaround, but her expression returned to an angrier glare.

"Oh, I walked in on _you_?" She hissed, "_You _were the one hiding! You could of said something before..." She gasped,_ "YOU WATCHED ME CHANGE YOU PERVERT!"_

"I did not!" Ranma countered, "Why would I want to watch _you _undress? Get real, Akane! You're built like a brick!" Akane's hands balled up into fists. Ranma was ready for her fist to come into contact with his face. She turned for the door and left. Without even saying another word to Ranma. "A... Akane?" It wasn't like her to back out on an argument with Ranma. She always had to win. "Oh man, I bet I hurt her feelings." He sighed and began unbuttoning his tuxedo shirt, ready to just go to bed. His head felt like someone was hitting him with a hammer over and over again.

After Ranma changed into his pajamas, he decided he'd go and apologize to Akane. _I shouldn't be the one apologizing. She should be bowing down to me after everything I've done for her. _Ranma lightly rapped on her door.

"Come in!" Akane called, lightly. Ranma took in a deep breath and pushed the door open. Her expression was neutral, but it immediately changed when her eyes lie on Ranma. "Oh. Ranma. Did you come to find tears? Sorry to let you down." She turned back to her desk.

"Whatever happened to hello?" Ranma shut the door behind him, crossing his arms over his chest. No response, "Look, Akane... I came to... apologize." She now turned back to him, her eyebrows cocked up.

"Oh?" Her expression said _then get on with it._

"I was wrong..." Ranma began, but he couldn't get the word out. _to hide like that in the bathroom. That's all you gotta say. _The words were formed in his mind, but somehow they weren't making it to his mouth. "I... shouldn't... wrong..." Ranma's face grew red when he realized he wasn't making sense. Akane was still staring at him, a blank look now settled on her face. "I..." He lowered his head, looking at his feet. _I probably look like an idiot. _"Okay?" He looked up at her, biting his lip. _I'm pathetic. _Akane stared at him for a moment longer before she burst into a rack of laughter.

"What?" She said between each wheezing laugh. "What was that?"

"Akane, I..." Ranma grew redder as she laughed. "I'm... sorry?" She now stopped laughing and looked unconvinced. "That wasn't supposed to be a question." Akane nodded in agreement. "Look, I'm... sorry?" He stomped his foot in anger. "Akane, I'm sorry! Okay, sorry!" He turned for the door. Ranma threw the door open and slammed it harshly after him. The duck that hung on Akane's door gave him a good whack to the back of the head, "OW! Dammit!" Ranma was about to rip the duck down when his eyes lay on the cursive that spelt out Akane's name. _Oh, Akane... _He sighed and pressed his forehead against her door. _I'm stuck in a nutshell. _

Ranma padded down the hallway and slid the door to his room open. Genma was snoring lightly. Ranma quietly closed the door after him and settled into bed. He was tired moments ago, but suddenly it felt like he had had cold water dumped on him. He stared up at the ceiling, his hands laced together over his stomach. _What is wrong with me? _Ranma thought, his face softening. _She's a stupid tomboy. Why would I want anything to do with her? _Ranma pulled his covers over his head and mashed his face into his pillow, _I. Hate. Emotions. _Ranma sighed heavily and relaxed. _Just go to sleep. Just go to sleep..._

"Akane..." Ranma's voice echoed. He was surrounded in complete darkness. "I want to tell you how much I love you. I really do." Ranma sighed, pressing his palm to his forehead. "I'm a complete klutz with words. You're klutzy as it is, stumbling around and bad with swords, but for me it's just words." An unknown force came out of nowhere. Ranma felt his cheek throbbing as if someone had just slapped him. "You're right..." He shook his head. "Not the right thing to say." He let out a harsh sigh and began pacing around in the complete darkness. Another force grabbed him and planted him in one spot. He nodded again, silently thanking his mind. "Akane, I'd climb any mountain for you. I would take a bullet for you. I'd do anything. I thought I had proven that to you when I saved you back at Jusenkyo. Apparently, you're a hard girl to impress." He sighed, "I guess that's a good thing. Akane, we almost got married. Those were the happiest hours of my life, knowing soon you'd have my last name after your's. Unless you wanted to keep Tendo as your last name... I'd be okay with that. But I want to let you know Akane Saotome sounds fine, too." Ranma stopped talking for a moment, his hands shaking. _I have so much to tell her. _"Akane, I'm sorry for screwing things up. I always... _always _say the wrong thing. Geez, sometimes it's like I can't help from insulting you. In all fairness, your thighs are easy to make fun of." An invisible force slapped him across the face again. "See? Exactly what I'm talking about. I insult. I'm an instigator. I used to be okay with that. When I was younger, I just wanted to start fights to work on my martial arts outside of training. But now that I've met you, I want to change. After everything we've been through, you've shown through victorius and I've done nothing but complain. I want to change. Think before I talk. I want to be a better person because of you. At Jusenkyo, I had a picture of you. I kept it close to me because it made me feel better. It helped me see the light in the darkest of situations." Ranma bit his lip for a moment before going on, "Akane, there's a side of me you've never seen. A part of me that is so inlove with you. Every moment I want to be holding you. I want to be taking you to see the wonders of the world. Everytime I gained the courage to do something like that, I'd look at you and it'd vanish. Only because you would look angry. But you'd only look angry because of something I did. Like making fun of your terrible stitching or god-awful cooking. There's a side of me you don't know. You think you have me figured out so well. You think I'm so shallow. I want you to know, there's a side of me you will probably never see because I'm too scared to show it. It would make me seem so un-manly. Unlike me. Everyone would stare at me in a different light just knowing I chased after you like Ryoga or Kuno. I can't stand being seen small and pathetic, but I can't stand knowing you don't know what I really think of it." Ranma let out a long sigh, "I... love you, Akane..."

Ranma's eyes flew open, "That's what I have to tell Akane."

"Ranma..." That's when Ranma realized he was standing in the middle of Akane's room. She was staring at him from the side of her bed, her eyes wide with shock. It didn't look like she had just woken up though. Sunlight was pouring through the window. Ranma looked around everywhere.

"How did I...?" Ranma began panicking. He flinched when Akane stood up, "Akane! I don't know how I got here! Let me explain! It's simple! I slept walked! Honest!" Akane stopped a few feet from Ranma, a grin on her face. "W... why are you smiling? You're going to hit me, ain't ya?"

"Ranma, did you really mean all of that?" Akane asked, a hopeful light in her eyes. Ranma relaxed, staring at her dumbfoundly, "That side of you I've never seen. Is there really a side of you like that? Do you really love me like that?" Ranma's eyes widened in shock.

_Everything I just said in that dream... I came in here and said to her face. Oh God! _Ranma looked mortified, but quickly concealed the shock and cleared his voice. _Got one chance. Let's not screw it up. _"A... Akane," Ranma said, trying his best to keep his voice from cracking. "I did..." His face grew red as soon as those words slipped through his lips. _What... just happened? _Joy grew through Akane's face. She laughed and lowered her head to look at the ground between them as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. The more time that passed, the more Akane began to laugh. "What's so funny?" Ranma asked, cocking an eyebrow up, _Is she not taking this seriously? _His heart pounded to a stop, _I bet I've made the biggest idiot of myself. _

"And I here I thought I really had you figured out," Akane said between laughs. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, "You always manage to surprise me, Ranma. I'm really glad you told me all of that." Ranma looked back into Akane's eyes. They were so wide and happy. Her pupil was practically dancing. "Thank you, Ranma." She said, wiping away the tears from laughing, "Thank you for everything."

"Y... you're welcome..." He said, still numb. Akane began for the door and looked at Ranma, who was staring at the wall, planted in spot. His hands were stiff beside his body. Infact, he had terrible posture. Which was rare for Ranma.

"Hey, are you alright?" She asked. Ranma nodded, "Well I'm going down for breakfast." And with that, Akane was gone. After Ranma had just dumped his entire heart onto her by accident, she just _left_.

_That tomboy has some real nerves. _Ranma said, trying to keep his thinking straight. He could feel a something different in the pit of his stomach, though. Accomplishment? A swelling love? Ranma let out a whoop and leapt onto Akane's bed, jumping up and down like a seven year old. _I did it! _Ranma cheered in his mind, "I'M OFFICIALLY A STUD!" He called throughout the room.

Akane smiled from the other side of the door, leaning against the doorframe. _He really does care. _She giggled lightly, _Ranma Saotome... the stud. That's going to take some getting used to. _And with that, Akane began padding down the hall for breakfast. She took a quick glance around, then began doing her own little dance. She then cleared her throat. Blushing, she smoothed her pajamas out and danced down the stairs. _Akane Saotome. How silly. But he's right. It does sound good. _


End file.
